The Adventures of the Troika
by Kandice
Summary: A collection of short stories (adventures in this case) of our beloved evil nerd troika.
1. Ruby of the Gods

Disclaimer: I believe it's the wonderful Goddess, Marti Noxon that thought up the troika, thanks on that...now it's owned by Mutant Enemy...not me...yes...I'm also not too happy about that...if I owned Mutant Enemy...the Buffyverse would have a new slayer...also, Richie and Mike are people...that I know...quite funny.  
  
Author's Note: I miss Jonathan! He was the BEST ever! (But Andrew is also awesome) So of course, they have to go and kill him off...JEEZ! Anyway, this is just a series of adventures of the troika...enjoy! Also, Shellie wrote a little and is one of the authors (there are 3.Me, Gabby and, Shellie)  
  
Author's Note from Gabby: I'm writing this story with Kandice and Shellie. I don't really know what to say 'cept: hope you like the story!!! Also, I agree with Kandice, you have to miss Jonathan! He was cool! You have to agree! lol : )  
THE TROIKA  
  
Ruby of the Gods  
"Quit it! Stop! Leave my magickal bone alone!"  
  
Andrew looked around, in mock surprise. "Uh, are you talking to me?"  
  
"No, moron, I'm talking to the other person that is currently using my magickal bone as a hammer!"  
  
Jonathan quickly grabbed the bone and put it gently on a shelf of the bookcase that was standing next to him.  
  
"You can't even reach to the top! You're a midget!" Andrew laughed. "Oh yeah, that's going keep me from taking it"  
  
"Get a real hammer, dumb-ass." Jonathan rolled his eyes.  
  
"You're just like Superman! He always thought he was better than everyone else. Especially Lex Luthor." Andrew shot out.  
  
"Okay, first of all, are you saying you're Lex? Puh-lease. Lex was smart." stated Jonathan, who was now walking towards the computer.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"And second. Superman never thought he was better than everyone else. You mixed up Superman with Voldemort."  
  
"Fine so-"  
  
"Which mean-"  
  
"I got it-"  
  
"And that wou-"  
  
"YOU GUYS!"  
  
Andrew and Jonathan both spun around at the voice behind them.  
  
"He started it," they said at the same time.  
  
"No I didn't! You started-" Jonathan began.  
  
"Nu-uh!"  
  
"GUYS! Guys...what's going on?" asked Warren.  
  
"He stole my magic bone and used it as a hammer!" Jonathan glared at Andrew.  
  
Warren chuckled. "So...that's what this is about?"  
  
The nods came.  
  
"People. We're not in Chicago to argue about Superman and Harry Potter"  
  
Jonathan shifted from one foot to another. "Umm...why are we here?"  
  
"To find the Ruber ab Deusis."  
  
"Red of the Gods? Who has the blood of the Gods? Wouldn't that person actually be a God? Oh, my God! You're planning on killing a God!" Andrew exclaimed.  
  
"Ruby of the Gods, oh smart one." corrected Jonathan.  
  
"Shut up." Andrew rolled his eyes.  
  
"Why don't you?!" retorted Jonathan.  
  
Warren rolled his eyes and went to the drivers seat. He started the car and as they pulled out of the gas station, there was a loud "clunk" in he back and Andrew came up front and sat down at the passenger seat.  
  
"What was that?" Warren inquired.  
  
"So! Where are we going?"  
  
Ignoring the fact that Andrew had just changed the subject, the driver got a map out and threw it to his passenger.  
  
"Find uhm..Woodfield Mall." commanded Warren.  
  
Andrew unfolded the map and began his search. "Woodfield...woodfield..." he muttered to himself.  
  
"Found it!" he exclaimed. "It's in...Sam's Berg."  
  
Warren look over with an annoyed expression and grabbed the map. "Schaumburg, dimwit."  
  
* * *  
  
When the got to the enormous shopping center, it was already 10:30.  
  
"Perfect. It's closed." Warren parked in a shadow, and and took the keys out of the ignition.  
  
"Oh, darn! Look at that the place is closed for the night! I guess we have to wait until tomorrow!" Andrew laughed nervously.  
  
Suddenly Jonathan came up from the back of the van holding his magick bone.  
  
"Alright, ow." Jonathan stated. "That hurt...and...you could have broken the bone. That was not cool."  
  
Warren pushed Jonathan out of his way and proceeded to the back of the van.  
  
"Sorry, but you got kinda annoying." responded Andrew.  
  
Jonathan stared at him for a second then shrugged. "It's fine. So what are we doing?"  
  
"Let's go." Came Warren's voice from the back.  
  
"We're at Sam's Berg. This is a mall. Woody Fields, I think." Andrew informed Jonathan.  
  
"My GOD!" Warren screamed. "Don't either of you two IDIOTS know how to read?! WOODFIELD! THE MALL IS CALLED WOODFIELD!  
  
"Sorr-y your highness." Jonathan commented.  
  
"Ugh." Warren complained. He glanced at Andrew, who was reading a map of the area around the mall. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Looking at this map. Ooo! Look, there's a store called Galyans across the street! And It has rock climbing! And... It's not closed yet. Im going over there... you guys coming?"  
  
"Yeah! Sounds cool!" Jonathan answered, "Like in that one Superman... when he was climbing the wall of the office building... and Lex's minion was chasing him..."  
  
"Oh yeah! I remember!" Andrew exclaimed, as he started to walk over to the crosswalk leading to the strip mall called "Streets of Woodfield."  
  
"You're not going! You wouldn't even get to the top if you did!" Warren called.  
  
"Well, maybe the midget here wouldn't, I would."  
  
"For the last time. I'm NOT a midget doofus!" Johnathan proclaimed.  
  
"Guys... tommorow. Right now we need the Ruby of the Gods."  
  
"It can wait until after I've climbed that wall." Andrew stood up for himself, which is something he didn't do very often, at least not to Warren.  
  
"Ugh. Fine." Warren reluctantly agreed, and headed with his two "friends" to the athletic store across the street.  
  
They walked into the brightly lit building. Andrew and Jonathan automatically headed over to the huge wall. Warren followed them after a minute.  
  
While Jonathan walked next to Andrew, he ran into a guy with blonde hair.  
  
"Hey, watch it." the guy said.  
  
"Sorry." Jonathan dismissed it quickly. "So I was thinking, since dartj Vader is all with his helmet, then we could give him an axe, and then, will he still be the big bad? Or is he just going to-"  
  
"I'm afraid tht your theory has already been done. By the way, my name is Richie and this is my friend, Mike. Anyway Darth Vadar, is the reigning terror in Star Wars, and no matter what weapon is given to him, he would still succeed." said the man that Jonathan had run into.  
  
Andrew turned to face Richie. "How can you be sure?"  
  
"Well-" Richie began.  
  
"See! You just can't prove that he would win! I think that you're bluffing." Andrew quickly interupted.  
  
"What? How can I be bluffing?" Richie asked, taken aback.  
  
Mike cut in, "I don't think that they know what they're talking about"  
  
"I believe you're right. We must be off now, nice meeting you...uh..." said Richie.  
  
"I'm And-"  
  
"He's Anders." Warren cut in, with a glare at Andrew. "And we must also be off."  
  
Warren turned to Jonathan and Andrew and said in a low voice, "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
"Why do I always have to be the first one?" Jonathan mumbled to himself. He looked up when the rope jerked suddenly. "Hey!" He was being lowered in from the top into the middle of Woodfeild Marl. "Marvelous..."he thought with an unhappy look on his face. "If you guys let go..." he warned. "Yo, shortie, shut up unless you want to get caught!" Warren's voice came down from the ceiling. "Are you down yet? Hurry up! We don't have all night." "Ya, ya, I'm down," Jonathan said dropping to the floor.  
  
"What do you see?" Andrew asked.  
  
"OOO! Victoria Secret!"  
  
"You sick minded man."  
  
"Don't tell me you wouldn't be happy to see Victoria's Secrets."  
  
"Shut up man! Just go!" Warren cried.  
  
"Fine fine, wait where am I going?"  
  
"Ugh! Here Andrew lower me down," Warren said handing Andrew the end of the rope.  
  
"Are you sure? 'Cause I mean I'm not that strong and I might not be able to hold the rope without making you fall and..."  
  
"Shut up and take the fricken rope!"  
  
"OK! OK!" Andrew said snatching the rope out of Warren's hands.  
  
Andrew lowered Warren down. When Warren reached the floor he looked to his right, no Jonathan. He looked to his left, no Jonathan. Then he looked behind him, and sure enough there was Jonathan, staring into the Victoria's Secrets store.  
  
"Hey! Perv! Come here!" Warren hissed.  
  
Jonathan turned around and walked back to Warren, "What?"  
  
"We gotta go find Whitehall Jewelers."  
  
"Hey! What about me eh?" Andrew's voice echoed down the halls.  
  
"Just stay quite and stay put," Warren snapped.  
  
Andrew nodded vigorusly and pulled the rope back up. Jonathan then pulled a white rabbit's foot out of his pocket.  
  
"What's that?" Warren questioned.  
  
"My lucky magickal rabbit's foot," Jonathan replied.  
  
"What about you magickal bone?" Warren snickered.  
  
"It's in my other pocket."  
  
Warren rolled his eyes and continued walking so he could find a jewelery store.  
  
"Hey!" Jonathan said suddenly, "How about Kay Jewelers? I mean they always have those red diamonds jewel thingy-ma-bobs on holidays and crap don't they? Oh! Oh! Like the commercial when their in the carriage and he gives the chick that ring and necklace,"  
  
"You watch to much T.V. man."  
  
Jonathan didn't reply, but just stayed in his daze.  
  
"Snap out of it!" Warren cried.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh never mind, just follow me."  
  
They ended up in front of Whitehall Jewelers about 5 minutes later.  
  
"It's closed! Let's go home!"  
  
"You nitwit, we want it to be closed."  
  
"But.why? If it's closed, it's not open, which means we can't go inside!"  
  
"I brought the master key."  
  
Warren took out a normal looking key and put it into the lock, then pressed the button to the side of it. The gate opened.  
  
Warren quickly walked over to the center case and got out some equipment, while Jonathan took an interest into the sparkling emeralds and sapphires.  
  
After a mesmerizing 10 minutes staring into the case of beautiful topaz' Jonathon looked to where Warren was holding the Ruber ab Deuses.  
  
"Whoa."  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Warren shoved his tools into the backpack he had on and then carefully took the gem and put it into the side pocket along with a huge wad of bubble wrap.  
  
They looked around and dashed out of Whitehall.  
  
"Uhm.Warren.where are we supposed to go?"  
  
"We went the wrong way." Warren looked around. "Damnit, Jonathan, I was following you!"  
  
"I want you, but I'm not givin' in this time! Goodbye to you." came a voice from a distance.  
  
Warren rolled his eyes. "Come on, I know where Andrew is."  
  
* * *  
  
They looked up and sure enough, there was Andrew, singing and dancing to "Goodbye to You" on the glass of the ceiling.  
  
"Yo, ballerina! Get us up!" Warren yelled up.  
  
Andrew looked down and quickly got the rope ready and threw it down to them.  
  
"Go." Said Warren.  
  
Jonathon looked around one last time and was pulled up.  
  
When the rope got thrown down a second time, Warren picked up his backpack and held onto the rope. When he was about 10 feet to the top, the backpack slipped off and fell to the ground with a loud bang.  
  
Suddenly, the lights turned on and an alarm came sounding. It was the sound of an alarm clock that you would enjoy to throw against your wall whenever you heard it- except 100 times louder.  
  
Warren yelled, "I have to get the ruby! Put me down!"  
  
"No, we have to go!" Jonathon and Andrew shouted over the loud noise.  
  
"Forget the damn ruby!"  
  
Warren jumped and landed on a tree, then climbed down, grabbed the backpack and without looking back, he jumped onto the once again lowered rope.  
  
As soon as he reached the top, he got pulled onto the transparent roof and the trio ran off, sliding down the ladder and into the van. Even before the back door was closed they were already on the road.  
  
* * *  
  
"That...was close." Jonathan stated.  
  
"Can I see the ruby?" inquired Andrew.  
  
"Yeah, it's in the side pocket of my backpack." Warren shouted from the front over the music.  
  
Andrew and Jonathan went over to the backpack that had been hastly thrown into the back when they had retreated and looked through the side pocket.  
  
It was empty.  
  
Jonathan searched through the whole backpack and all that was found were the tools that had been used to open the glass case.  
  
"It's not here." Jonathan whispered to Andrew.  
  
"Do you think.what if it fell out when it fell?" Andrew questioned the possibility.  
  
Jonathon looked at the backpack again and back to his friend, then gave a nod.  
  
Andrew cleared his throat. "Uhm.Warren! There seems to be a...slight problem."  
  
"The ruby isn't there."  
  
The brakes squealed and the van came to an abrupt stop.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
* * *  
  
The security guards came to the spot that had triggered the mall alarm to activate. Everything was already calm, and there was nothing out of place. They came closer to the spot where a red light dimly shone from the ground. One man picked up the stone.  
  
A couple more security guards ran over and reported that there had been a disturbance at Whitehall Jewelers. There was an empty case.  
  
"We found the item that was in it."  
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the first adventure.I'll try to post the next adventure sometime within the next week, it depends on the amount of things I have to do, but if I get reviews, perhaps they'll give me, Gabby and Shellie some more insparation. In other words, reviews are nice. Everyone likes them :-D Laters all! -Kandi 


	2. Disney World, Beware!

Disclaimer: According to the 10 commandments of Whedonism.I own nothing.Joss is God.and I am not allowed to worship Marti.  
  
Author's Note from Kandice: Thank you to all who reviewed! I'm happy that you guys like it! Actually, ecstatic is more like it...so here's the next chappy! Oh, but before that, I'd like to give credit to Liz who thought up of half of the idea and Gabby who thought up even more of the idea! LoL, I only did the writing, and I added my own ideas in the mix.so enjoy! And poor Jonathon in this adventure.  
  
Author's Note from Gabby: Hey guys! I'm sooo glad you like the story so far! This is our second chapter. It's pretty good in my opinion...lol. I hope you guys like it too! Well I really dunno what to say so toodles! Enjoy!  
The Troika Disney World, Beware!  
  
Jonathon stood there deep in thought for a second. He touched the surface. It was cool and smooth to his touch, painted blue. He glanced at it up and down and after a second he turned around to face his companions.  
  
"What is it?" Andrew asked, his voice barely a whisper.  
  
"It's a door, dimwit." Warren answered.  
  
"Well, yeah." Andrew replied.  
  
With that, Warren pushed past the two guys and opened the door.  
  
The patrons, mostly made up of demons of various shapes, sizes and colors, looked up at the trio of humans who had intruded upon their daytime hang- out. Without taking notice of any of the stares that he received, Warren headed towards the back of the bar , full of confidence. Of course, as soon as he got thrown across the room by a rather ugly looking Nomar demon, most of that confidence disappeared within seconds.  
  
Andrew and Jonathon froze at the door as a couple of demons looked over at them, curious as to what they would do.  
  
"We...uh, we're not here to cause trouble...uh...we come in peace." Andrew got out.  
  
Jonathan gave a fake smile and put showed the demons a peace sign.  
  
Suddenly a tall green-scaled demon came out from the back and with a big booming voice said, "What's going on here?"  
  
"These humans were trying to get in. So we were just going to...prevent, yeah, prevent them from intruding." The Nomar demon replied.  
  
The green demon took a look at Warren, who had just gotten up from the ground, and then glanced at Jonathon's peace sign.  
  
"They're here on business with me. Didn't I tell you there would be 3 geeks that came to visit on Thursday?" the green demon said to the Nomar.  
  
"Hey!" Jonathon exclaimed, but was cut off by an elbow colliding with his rib cage.  
  
"Today's Thursday?"  
  
"Duh, why do you think they're here?"  
"Because they..."  
"DON'T YOU DARE CONTRIDICT ME!"  
"But you just..."  
"No interrupting! Now shoo! Go back to playing cards for kittens."  
When the demon said this Andrew cringed and wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
"Is there a problem?" the head demon asked.  
"Um, nope, nope."  
"Are you sure? Is it that you don't like kittens?"  
"I like kittens, but do you have to eat them?"  
The demon shrugged and said, "Follow me."  
The trio of geeks followed the green scaly demon to a beat up old oak door. When the demon opened the door the geeks were shocked. The room was full of expensive furniture and paintings. There were two red leather couches. Persian rugs covered in green, black, and brown vines that were intertwining. Paintings that were from what seemed like every era were hung on the wall. The demon's desk was made out of mahogany oak. It shined as if it was constantly polished. On the desk sat a name plate that read: Bob.  
"Interesting name for a demon. They're normally so much more creative," Andrew whispered to Warren.  
Warren nodded while staring at a big green jewel that sat in a glass case.  
"Wow," Jonathan gasped staring at a picture of Asian women holding kittens.  
Andrew and Warren rolled their eyes, but Bob went over to him, "You like it? I got it when I went to North Korea in 1900. The kittens are pretty good there."  
"If you'll excuse me, but I..." Andrew said running out of the room holding his stomach.  
"Sorry about him," Warren said sitting down on one of the couches.  
"It's OK," the demon replied sitting down behind his desk in a great black leather chair, "But will he be back soon?"  
Before Warren could answer Andrew walked into the room, "He's back."  
Warren looked at Jonathan and Andrew, who were standing up, "Sit down you idiots."  
Jonathan and Andrew quickly sat down on the couch.  
"Well I have a proposition for you," Bob said folding his hands and placing them on his desk, " I'll tell you where the weapon storage is, just like you wanted, if I get what I want, in return."  
"Which would be..." Jonathan ventured.  
"Shush! Let him finish!" Warren said elbowing him.  
"Oww!" Jonathan cried rubbing his ribs.  
  
"The problem is, I'm not sure if you can get what I want." The demon continued.  
  
"Anything you want, we can get." Warren said, his voice full of superiority.  
  
"Anything?" Bob inquired.  
  
"Anything." Warren confirmed.  
"But...wait! Uh, Bob? Technically, you owe US." Andrew said bravely.  
  
"And why is that?" the demon turned to Andrew with a smirk.  
  
"Because we got you that protector spell last month when that Sauron or whatever was after you." Andrew folded his arms and looked straight at the demon.  
  
"Sauron is from Lord of the Rings, doofus. It's Sumand." Jonathon corrected.  
  
"Whatever, anyway, we don't owe you anything, Mr. Bob."  
  
Bob laughed in amusement, "Very well, you caught me."  
Warren looked from the demon to the guys in astonishment. "You're going to tell us where the storage is?  
  
"Of course, what kind of demon would I be if I didn't keep my word to repay my debt to you?" the demon asked. "Hey, not all demons are bad guys. I'm a demon of my word, ya know."  
  
"So I see." Warren said simply.  
  
Bob stood up and poured himself a drink, then offered some to the trio, who politely declined. "It's in the Magic Kingdom."  
"Oh! Oh! You mean like Disney World?!" Andrew cried.  
"Of course he doesn't mean Disney World you dip!" Warren yelled.  
"Actually I do mean Disney World," Bob stated.  
  
"Right, of course." Warren agreed.  
"Well," Bob continued, "It's a back street, I'm sure you three know what that is."  
"That's kinda like Rack's place!" Jonathan squeaked.  
"Yes Jonathan," Warren growled, "Now shut up."  
  
"You guys know Rack?" the demon asked, pleasantly surprised.  
  
"Yeah, we've done business with him before." Warren said.  
  
"Nice fellow." Andrew added. "A little creepy."  
  
"To that I agree." Bob nodded his scaly head. "Anyway, the back street is between the Haunted Mansion and the cotton candy stand. Do you think you can find it?"  
"Oh! Oh! Cotton candy!" Jonathan and Andrew cried at once.  
Warren put his head in his hands, "Yeah, we'll manage."  
* * *  
  
The three guys walked into Magic Kingdom the next day. The sun was shining, the grass was growing, the bratty little kids were screaming to get on the huge rides, and the lines for the rides were getting longer by the minute.  
  
"Oh! Thunder Mountain! We have to go on Thunder Mountain!" Andrew announced with a smile on his face and a boy-ish bounce in his step.  
  
"Will you knock it off?" Warren muttered.  
  
"Sorry." Andrew responded. "But the memories...last time I was here was in 7th grade."  
  
"Summer before 6th grade for me. For my birthday, I just turned 12." Jonathon smiled at the image of that time.  
  
"Let's go on the rides!" Andrew explained, full of boyish impatient again.  
  
"Yeah!" Jonathon agreed enthusiastically.  
  
"I doubt you'll be able to go on any rides. I'm pretty sure you have to be at least a foot tall to go on like, the kiddie rides." Warren conveyed.  
  
"Can you like, cheer up?" Andrew suggested.  
  
"Fine, go on your stupid rides. I'll be looking for the storage, we'll meet back here in 2 hours." Warren grumbled.  
  
"Awesome!" Andrew and Jonathon cheered.  
  
"Later." Andrew waved to Warren and he set off with the shortie. "Let's get Fast Passes!"  
  
"Yeah, that's smart!" Jonathon agreed.  
  
"Of course it is!"  
  
* * *  
  
After they had met back up on Main Street about 2 hours later they headed off towards the Haunted Mansion. They looked around for a cotton candy stand. Finally Jonathon bumped into it, and a bunch of neatly arranged drinks that were for sale fell off the cart. After the person had demanded that Jonathon pick everything up and put it exactly how it was, Warren made a comment and they casually started searching around for a portal.  
  
"This is useless." Warren stated.  
  
He then leaned back upon the wall behind him and disappeared.  
  
"By God, I think he's found it!" Andrew whispered to Jonathon, who laughed, then they both looked around and walked into the wall.  
  
"Ow," Jonathon complained. "What the heck was that?"  
  
"It moved." Andrew said off-handedly.  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"Well, where could it have moved?" Andrew questioned with a look around as if a sign were going to show up with neon like saying 'ENTER HERE'  
  
"Not far, because-" Jonathon took a step back and disappeared, without a moment's thought, Andrew dived in and landed on top in a pool.  
  
He swam to the surface to find Jonathon climbing out of the water, dry as a towel that had just come out of a dryer that had been on the highest cycle for about 70 minutes.  
  
Andrew got out and found that he too, was dry as though he hadn't been in the water. "Cool!"  
  
They looked around. There were rows upon rows of various weapons. The contraptions ranged from a simple crossbow to a high-tech ray gun.  
  
"Oyo! They used these in Star Trek." Jonathon commented.  
  
"Star Wars, short one." Andrew walked over to a mechanical pen hanging on a wall. "A pen. I'm scared." As he reached out for the pen and took it off the wall, a huge blob of ink shot out from the top all over his shirt! "Ah!" he threw the pen on the ground and dove into the mystical pool.  
  
Jonathan looked over to his friend, but he was gone. A minute later, he appeared again and climbed out.  
  
"Right, the pool transports you, I forgot." Andrew shrugged.  
  
"Guys!" Warren called from the end.  
  
They walked over to him. "What's up?" Jonathon implored.  
  
"This is an Invisible Ray Gun." Warren observed the sleek and shiny edges of the device.  
  
"Um...are the rays invisible or...why is it called that?" Andrew inquired  
  
Warren didn't even make a haughty remark, instead he began to explain, "Whoever gets hit by the beam, becomes invisible. Do you know how much power we could get from this?"  
  
"Can we keep it?" Andrew looked on in awe.  
  
"Unfortunately, no." Warren sighed and gently placed the gun back in it's case. "However, I have the plans on how to make it. And we are going to do that."  
  
"Are you sure we'll be able to?" Jonathon asked.  
  
"Jonathon, Jonathon, Jonathon, we can do anything."  
  
"Cool. Can we go on some more rides now?" Andrew catechized.  
  
Author's note: I think you all can figure out before which episode this lil' adventure belongs to...if you're stuck on that, just ask, and I'll tell you the answer in the beginning of the next chapter in my authors note...anyway, thank you all once again, for the reviews, you have no idea how extremely pleased I am of the outcome so far with the story, actually, we all are. (Me, Shellie and Gabby) Thanka you all!  
  
-Kandice 


	3. School Days

Disclaimer: Joss owns everything except for Liz, Alison, Anna, and Kayla.although I'm sure he will eventually.  
  
Author's Note: The beginning was writing by the awesome Liz. Check out her story ( They're awesome. Other that that.uhm.enjoy the adventure.  
THE TROIKA   
They drove into Ravenna, Ohio in their big U Haul type truck. Warren was driving and Jonathon and Andrew were in the back playing Life. Warren slammed on the brakes outside of an old abandoned church. There was a big bang in the back and Warren looked back through the window separating the front and the back of the truck to find Jonathon and Andrew sprawled out on the ground with pieces of Life scattered all over the floor of the truck.  
  
Jonathon sat up and looked at Warren. "Now look what you did," He stood up and looked a the pieces, then over at Andrew who was just sitting up.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Andrew replied and Warren rolled his eyes and pulled the keys from the ignition.  
  
"Why do you think I stopped the car?"  
  
Andrew shrugged. "Bathroom break?" Andrew stood up and smacked the invisible dust off of his pants then walked to the back of the truck, opening the sliding doors. He jumped out of the truck and started closing the doors, forgetting all about Jonathon starting to walk out. There was a bang and then a thump and Andrew opened the door again to find Jonathon lying on the ground, rubbing his nose.  
  
"Ow! Butthead!" Jonathon complained and continued rubbing his nose.  
  
"Sorry." Andrew muttered. "I forgot all about you short stuff."  
  
"Stop calling me that!"  
  
"Shut up, will you?" Warren yelled back at them.  
  
"Yes Warren." Jonathon and Andrew said in unison and they shut the doors to the truck, following Warren to the old abandoned church.  
  
Andrew looked down to the big pocket in his pants and there was a clump there. He smiled, remembering something and walked into the church after Jonathon and Warren. He walked straight to a corner and slipped one of his shoes off, then took the clump out of his pocket. He tried to shove his foot into it.  
  
Then, Jonathon walked up to him and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"  
  
Andrew stopped immediately and looked up from his foot. "Well.. remember Disney World?"  
  
Jonathon looked at him sideways. "Yeah."  
  
Andrew smiled. "I met Cinderella." He pulled the glass slipper from his foot and held it up for Jonathon to see. Jonathon reached for it and Andrew pulled it back to himself.  
  
"Let me see it!" Jonathon kept reaching for it.  
  
"It's mine!"  
  
Jonathon jumped on Andrew and tried to grab the slipper from him. Andrew held it as far away as he could while Jonathon was on top of him.  
  
"No! It's mine!" Andrew yelled again.  
  
Warren glared over at them. "Hey!"  
  
They stopped immediately and looked at him. Warren didn't say anything and shook his head, going back to what he was doing previously.  
  
Andrew poked Jonathon in the ribs and Jonathon got off of him. "Ow, stupid."  
  
Andrew sat up and held his glass slipper close to him. After he slid the slipper back into his pocket, he looked over to Warren to see him hanging up the phone. He stood up and looked at him.  
  
"Let's go, guys," Warren said with a smile on his face.  
  
"O..kay," Jonathon replied and he and Andrew followed out to the big truck.  
  
"Do we have to rid in the back?" Andrew asked, while he headed towards the front of the car.  
  
"One of you is going to have to," Warren replied.  
  
Jonathon and Andrew both looked at each other and raced to the front seat. Andrew pushed Jonathon out of the way, opened the passenger side door and jumped into the car, rolling down the window. He stuck his tongue out at Jonathon. "Get in the back, shorty." He rolled his window back up and pulled his seat belt on.  
  
"I'm not short!" Jonathon yelled back and started to walk back to the doors to the back of the truck. He mumbled things to himself and opened the back door, jumped into the truck, then slamming the door closed for effect. Warren started the car and they drove off towards the school. Andrew patted his legs and looked out the window, glad that he wasn't in the back with Jonathon. Another ride like that and he'd probably throw up.  
  
They came to a stop at the high school and everyone got out of the truck and walked towards the front steps of the school. Andrew looked around and spotted Dairy Queen. "Oh! Oh! Ice cream!" He looked at Warren who was glaring at him. "Maybe another time?" Andrew sighed.  
  
Meanwhile, Jonathon was twisting a bobby pin around in the lock of the door. He sighed deeply and threw it down onto the ground and looked at Warren and Andrew who were walking up the steps now.  
  
"It won't work." He slightly pouted and Warren pushed him out of the way, ready to take his turn.  
  
He twisted it a little and heard it click, dropping the bobby pin to the ground and standing up. He opened the door and looked at Jonathon. "You were turning it the wrong way, dimwit." He sighed and walked into the school.  
  
Jonathon and Andrew followed and Andrew looked down at the mat they were now standing on. He rubbed his shoes on it and looked at the others. "Why are we in a high school?" He whispered as if someone was actually there to hear him.  
  
Warren didn't answer but walked down the hallway with Jonathon trailing behind. Andrew followed after a few seconds of looking around the hallway he was standing in. He ran his fingers against the lockers as he passed them and started to hum. The humming got louder and then turned to singing. "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E." He started to tap the beat of the song on the lockers. "Mickey Mouse. Donald Duck! Mickey-" He watched Warren and Jonathon turn and stare at him. He smiled sheepishly at them. "Sorry," He whispered.  
  
Warren turned back around, followed, again, by Jonathon and Andrew. They entered a blue tiled hallway.  
  
"This is cool, " Andrew said. "It's like a padded room.. only a hallway." He nodded. "Yeah." They walked by a banner that said "Go Ravens!" Then another that said, "Ravens are on Fire!" with different color flames. Andrew looked at Warren. "There's a game on Saturday! Can we go?" Warren walked over behind him and gave him a little push.  
  
"We'll be on our way back to Sunnyhell by then." "With our new powers." He smirked.  
  
Jonathon looked over at him. "We-we're gonna have powers?"  
  
"Cool," Andrew said with a nod. He'd still wanted to go to that game. To root for the Ravens. He had a feeling that the Ravens were going to beat the Riders. They turned a left and then a right, walking out of the blue hallway. They walked up the staircase to their left, not wanting to walk past the Glass Office. They walked up the second set of stairs and ended up on the third floor. They walked shortly down the hallway and Warren turned to the left while Jonathon and Andrew turned to the right after seeing a fishtank with a couple snails, some blue and green fish and a single yellow one. The yellow fish swam quickly to the back of the tank, kind of playing Hide and Seek.  
  
Andrew pointed at it. "It's like that guy from Star Wars Episode 1. You know, Jar Jar Binks.. except yellow."  
  
Jonathon nodded.  
  
Warren stopped at a locker and smiled kind of wickedly. "Here it is, boys. Locker number 3105." He heard them laugh and looked around, finding them still at the fish tank. He sighed.  
  
"It's like Where's Waldo," Andrew whispered, watching the yellow fish.  
  
"Boys!" Warren yelled and they quickly walked back towards Warren, waving goodbye to the fish. Warren glared at them and turned his full attention back to the lock on the locker.  
  
"Sorry," Jonathon whispered.  
  
"Shh." Warren held up his left hand and started turning the dial on the locker, saying the combination out loud. "34.15.29.." He pulled up on the handle and the door popped open. There was a light jacket hanging and books littered the bottom of the thin locker. He ran his hand along the side of the locker. There was a kind of a switch towards the top and he pushed it up. Another door popped open, but it was a little book storage thing. There were a few notebooks and a couple folders. He looked around. "Damnit! I can't find it."  
  
"It? What's it?" Jonathon asked, looking at the locker up and down.  
  
"A button, shortcake." Warren mumbled at him while he ran his hand around the cubby hole. He smirked when he found something and pushed it, pulling his arm back and taking a step back to join the other two. They all watched as the lockers grew apart, forming a doorway leading into a big cavern type room. They walked in and looked around the room at the couches and chairs. It was a pretty big room. The door closed behind them and they turned around when they heard it slam. A thin girl came out of the shadows from behind them wearing a long red dress.  
  
"I thought you'd never get here." She told them and watched as Andrew and Jonathon jumped and they all turned around.  
  
"And you're Liz, I presume," Warren told her.  
  
A smile formed on her face. "So, you have done your homework."  
  
"Always do."  
  
"Actually.. I did it," Jonathon piped up and Warren elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"Ow!" Jonathon grabbed his side.  
  
Liz motioned her hands to two other girls sitting on a couch. Warren, Jonathon and Andrew turned and watched, then turned their eyes back to Liz. She raised her right hand and a girl walked up next to her, wearing a long dark blue dress. "Kayla." She raised her left hand and the last girl walked up next to her wearing a long black dress. "Alison."  
  
Andrew looked at them. "What kinds of names are those for witches?"  
  
This comment didn't please the witches and Warren noticed that. "You'll have to excuse my friend here." He turned to Andrew. "He doesn't do well under pressure." He said through clenched teeth and narrowed eyes. Then, he turned back to the three witches.  
  
"I'm afraid our group isn't complete. There are usually four of us." Alison told them.  
  
She took a seat, on the satin couch that matched the midnight black of her flowing dress, then motioned for the guests to take a seat as well.  
  
"When will she get here?" Warren asked.  
  
"Do not be hasty, Warren." Kayla replied.  
  
"They have good reason to be hasty, Kayla, for they are mere mortals and-" Liz began.  
  
"Uhm.so you guys are, like, immortals? Then why do you hang out in back of a school locker? It's not very classy, and yeah, this place looked wicked cool, but I spent half of my life getting out of school, and here you guys are. I mean, what do you guys do here all day? Just sit around and knit or something? If I were immortal doomed to spend my life at school.I'd.Well, there would be hell to pa-" Andrew rambled.  
  
"SILENCE" Kayla instructed, anger in her voice.  
  
"Uh...are you saying we have no lives?" Alison asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, I mean, you guys sit here all day-"  
  
"I'm here! I'm here! Am I late?" came a voice from behind them.  
  
A blonde girl walked into the room dressed in black jeans and a pink tank top. She frowned at the vacant green couch.  
  
"Uh, who changed the color again?"  
  
Alison sighed, "Anna, you can't have orange."  
  
Anna glared at Alison and sat down on the couch, which promptly turned a blinding shade of orange.  
  
"Now it doesn't match your clothes!" Kayla argued.  
  
"Fine." Anna snapped and the couch turned into a pink the shade of the tank top. "Does that work?"  
  
"Anna!" Alison exclaimed. "It doesn't match our color scheme!"  
  
"Oh scheme.bleem."  
  
"Enough." Liz interrupted. "The colors we'll deal with later. We have more important things to talk about now."  
  
"Oh yeah! Anna, so how was the date?" Kayla demanded with excitement.  
  
"Where did he take you to dinner?"  
  
The girls all started throwing out random questions about everything ranging from what kind of food there was to what shoes he wore.  
  
"Ehem" Warren interrupted.  
  
The four immortals glanced at him then took on their professional manner once more.  
  
"Who are they?" Anna asked as she stared at them.  
  
"The short one is Jonathon. The one with the dark brown hair, is Warren and the confused looking one is Andrew." Kayla informed her friend.  
  
"Andrew claims that we have no lives." Alison commented.  
  
"Really?" Anna took a sudden interest. "Well, for that, he must be banished!"  
  
"But to where?" Kayla questioned, deep in thought.  
  
"B-banished?" Andrew got out in a small voice.  
  
"What an idiot. You never know when to shut up, do you?" Warren asked him.  
  
"THE TORTURE CHAMBER!" Liz yelled out in excitement!  
  
"I like that idea." Anna agreed with a giggle.  
  
"No." Andrew began to back up.  
  
Liz stood up elegantly and rushed over to the poor boy. "Follow me." She whispered to him. His whole demeanor suddenly changed and he followed without question.  
  
Suddenly Anna stood up and announced, "I must go with them.to uh.make sure that they don't get.lost."  
  
With that, she quickly disappeared out the door that Liz and Andrew had gone out.  
  
"To-torture chamber?" Jonathon stammered.  
  
"Whatever." Warren began. "We came here to receive our powers."  
  
Kayla laughed. "You expect us to give you nerds magickal powers?"  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"For what? What have you done for us?" Alison asked of them.  
  
"Well, great, look what he got us into now." Jonathon moaned.  
Author's Note: yes, the end.it isn't the best, why? Because there is a continuation that Liz and Kandice have begun! This is just the first part, the part they are writing is going to be a full length fic. So the information on that will be posted in the next chapter! 


	4. El Amulet y el Demonio del Caos

Disclaimer: One day...when more money.ill down here and go on ebay and say, "Hmm.I think I'm going to by Buffy and everything related..." Until that day...i own nothing...  
  
Author's Note from Gabby: Hey guys!! While Kandi was working on the 3rd adventure I started this one! And thank you Kandi for the demon name! heehee. I'm glad you guys like our story so far. It's fun to write and we're glad that people enjoy our writing! We'll add more when we can! And reviews are always nice...heehee.  
Author's Note from Kandi: Technically, I shouldn't be writing an author's note for this...'cos I wrote, like, didn't even write one sentence, 'cos I figured that Gabby's idea was cool and she wrote it...and I found nothing that needed any changing...so, enjoy!  
  
THE TROIKA  
  
~El Amulet y el Demonio del Caos~  
"And tell me again why we're going to Mexico?" Jonothan questioned getting josted around in the back of the van.  
"They definity don't have lack of pot holes," Andrew stated.  
Ignoring him Warren answered Jonothan, "To get an amulet."  
"An amulet? Why would we want an amulet when I have my trusty side kick.....THE MAGICK BONE!"  
Rolling his eyes Warren turned the music up louder and continued driving down a dirt road full of pot holes.  
  
***  
Suddenly the van jerked to a stop. Andrew got thrown forward and his book fell shut.  
"Hey!" he yelled at Warren, "I just got to a good part in my book, they were talking about cheerleaders."  
Cursing the whole time Jonothan pulled himself out from underneath some boxes.  
"We're there," Warren beamed, "Let's go."  
They all hopped out of the car and looked around. Hills, hills, and more hills. The ground seemed to touch the sky as if you could climb and climb till you reached the sun. As for the sun, well they all made a mistake by wearing black. The sun was blazing, it was at least 97 degrees outside.  
"What exactly are we looking for in this hot as hell box?" Jonothan snapped at Warren.  
"Just follow me," Warren said.  
"Pfft. You remember what happened last time you said that."  
Warren the took off up one of the hills. Andrew and Jonothan trudged on behind him.  
***  
"Water.....hello, water?" Jonothan called to Warren up ahead.  
"It's all gone," Warren said causually back.  
"What?!"  
"I got thirsty."  
Andrew grabbed Jonothan before he could attack Jonothan.  
"Ya, you're right, we don't know the way back with out him," Jonothan muttered.  
"That and he'd kill you in a second, weakling," Andrew stated.  
"Wussy."  
"Magick bone lover."  
"Man wh-"  
"Would you to shut up and come here!?"  
Jonothan and Andrew ran up to Warren.  
"We're here."  
They looked down into a basin and saw a villiage. A demon villiage. There were all types. Slimy green ones. Scaly blue ones. Ones that looked like balls of wax.  
"Think there's any vampires around here?" Jonothan asked.  
"Nah, it's sunny most of the time here," Warren answered.  
Just as the reached the bottom of the basin the sky turned black and it looked like night.  
"OK, that's creepy," Andrew said.  
Warren thought for a second and then jumped to where he was just standing, bright as day. He then stood right between where he was standing and where he had jumped from. His right half was in the dark and his left in the light.  
"Must be some protection dome for the vamps," he said going back up to the other two geeks.  
"Probably," Jonothan agreed, trying to sound smarter than Warren.  
"Well c'mon, we gotta find this chaos demon guy."  
Just as they were about to walk toward the center of the villiage a slimy green demon smacked right into Andrew, it sounded like a fish hitting cement.  
"Hey!" Andrew screeched.  
Warren rolled his eyes and turned to the demon, "Um, uh, do you know where I can find a chaos demon named Torak?"  
The demon just stared at him, puzzled.  
Sighing Andrew pushed Warren out of the way, "I know Spanish," turning to the demon he asked, "¿El demonio del caos?"  
"Llamo?" the slimy green demon asked back.  
"Torak."  
Greeny pointed to the right toward a hut, "Hey thanks!" Andrew cried.  
Andrew, Warren, and Jonothan headed off to the hut. Outside of the hut stood two tall blue scaly demons.  
"Hola!" Andrew said to them, "¿Podemos entrar?"  
"Si," one of the demons nodded, pulling open a blue satin curtain.  
"Gracias."  
"Did you just say 'Grassy-ass'?" Jonothan question when they entered the hut.  
"No you idiot. I said 'Gracias'. It means 'Thank you' in Spanish."  
Rolling his eyes Warren pushed past them and sat in a leather chair that was by a door. Jonothan went up to the door and knocked.  
"I'm busy!" a deep voice growed.  
Jonothan jumped back from the door and tripped on Warren outstreached foot, "Owwie! Owwie!"  
"Wuss," Warren sneerned.  
Whining Jonothan stood up and leaned against the wall next to Andrew who seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly he burst out into song, "Sweet Home Alabama!"  
"Shut up!" the deep voice growled again.  
"Fine, fine, I'll sing a different song. How can you see into my eyes, like open doors? Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb!!!"  
"No! I said 'Shut up!'"  
"Fine, fine."  
After about five minutes a purple demon with fangs walked out of the room. He snorted at Jonothan and left the hut. Warren peeked around the corner and saw Torak. Torak was red, slimy, tall and obiviously could cause a lot of chaos.  
"Excuse me, can we come in?" Warren ventured.  
"Mhm," Torak nodded gruffly.  
They all filed into the room and sat in the chairs infront of a desk made out of hay.  
"How can I help you?"  
"We need to find an amulet," Warren replied.  
"Ah ha. Well there's only one amulet that I know of and only one person to help you, my girlfriend. She's in the room behind me if you would like to meet her."  
"Sure."  
Jonothan, Andrew, and Warren stood up and walked behind the desk. When Warren opened the door there was a women sitting on a pillow. She had long brown hair. Her eyes were closed, she was meditating. She was surrounded by candles. And on a desk by her there were 5 dolls dressed in Hispanic outfits. One with black braided hair had a blindfold over her eyes.  
"Um, excuse me?" Warren choked.  
Her eyes shot open. Her brown eyes seemed to see through them, "Visitors," she said with an English accent, "See Miss Edith if you behaved you could see them."  
Jonothan's eyes widened at the mention of Miss Edith. He could have sworn he heard Buffy talk about a vampire named Drusilla that was with Spike. She also mentioned a doll named Miss Edith.  
"D-D-Drusilla?" Jonothan spit out.  
"Little boy? Do I know you?"  
"Y-y-you've seen me once or twice. I'm sure Spike even tried to kill me."  
"Spiky?"  
"Ya, sure, him."  
"Um, sorry to inturupt this little stroll down memory lane, but uh we're looking for an amulet," Warren interrupted.  
"The amulet..." she said placing her finger tips to her temples, "is gone."  
"What do you mean it's gone?!"  
"Someone has already taken it."  
Warren huffed and drug Andrew and Jonothan out of the room, past the chaos demon and outside, "We're going home."  
"B-b-but we could ask where it's at," Andrew suggested.  
"Why do you need it anyway?" Jonothan questioned.  
"Because we could get rid of the Slayer with it," Warren replied.  
  
Author's Note: Just wondering but should we do a continuance on this adventure too? 'cos if you all want...I have ideas...so not a problem...I'm just loving how it ended...lemme know what you think! (Also.reviews rock, and we haven't gotten too many although I'm happy as hell about the ones that we DID get.remember, reviews=inspiration! 


	5. Under and Other

--[The Adventures of the Troika]--  
  
--[Disclaimer: Joss es Deus.]--  
  
--[Author's Note: Hey everyone! Yes, my disclaimer *is* in 3 different languages! Any who... Okay, so it's May now, and yes, I do remember saying something along the lines of, "Spring Break will be here soon so I'll write a lot." Um...yeah, needless to say, Spring Break came and went and I still only have 4 stories of the Troika. So my sincere apologies for that. However, I *am* extremely happy that you guys reviewed and that you love us. LoL. I'm honored. So please continue loving us, and here's the next story.]--  
  
--[Under and Other]---  
  
Buffy Summers sat down at the table in the Magic Box and glared at the book next to her. It was a book entitled, "Under and Other-worldly Forces of the Light and Dark."  
  
Rupert Giles walked in from a room that was behind the slayer and sat down across from her. A smile appeared on his face when he noticed the book. The watcher glanced at the girl.  
  
The blonde nodded and wordlessly pointed to her hair.  
  
Giles frowned. His mouth opened and started to move.  
  
"Put up the volume, you idiot. I wanna hear what they're saying!" Jonathan interrupted.  
  
Andrew sighed and looked up from his comic book to turn a dial on the computer screen in front of him.  
  
"-it looks fine, Buffy." Giles voice was heard over the speakers in the van that Jonathan and Andrew sat in.  
  
"Ugh." The slayer whined. "No, it doesn't. It's completely messed up. And it's also all your fault!"  
  
"No way! Why the hell did he do that?" Andrew exclaimed from his beanbag.  
  
"What?" Jonathan asked as he continued watching the computer monitor.  
  
Andrew waved his comic book. "I don't get why Superman insists on saving the bad guys! He never learns! They always end up coming back in the next comic and Superman's all like, 'Uh, well, where'd he come from?' It's like, hello! They're supervillains. They're not going to go away just 'cos you saved their lives! If anything, they'll be meaner *because* you saved their lives! I swear! Superman can be so-"  
  
"Shut up!" Warren yelled over Andrew as he . "Just...listen."  
  
Andrew and Jonathan looked at Warren then at the computer.  
  
"-shows the greatest forces of this and all other worlds, Buffy." Giles voice once again filled the van. "Like Gods, Goddessess, Demons, all kinds of magickal beings that are currently in existence.or that have been. Ever. Do you have any idea of the importance of that book?"  
  
Buffy shrugged. "No."  
  
"But I do." Warren said. "We need that book."  
  
"Uh, Warren, that won't be easy to get. The Slayer is guarding it." Andrew piped up.  
  
Warren sat down in the swivel chair that sat in front of one of the many computers in the van, he turned down the volume and started typing. "Actually, she won't be. This will be as easy as stealing from a baby."  
  
"A-actually, that isn't too easy either." Andrew mumbled.  
  
Jonathon laughed. "Andrew was trying to steal a lollipop from this 1 year old girl, and she bit him. He ran away."  
  
"She was vicious!"  
  
"She was, like, one year old! I don't even think she had teeth!"  
  
"It was a baby, not an eighty year old man. Of course she had teeth."  
  
"Did I mention that he ran away screaming?"  
  
"I did not!"  
  
A hard whitish object went flying across the van and hit Jonathon on the head.  
  
"Ow! Hey! That was my magick bone!" Jonathon objected.  
  
Warren and Andrew looked at each other and snickered.  
  
"Oh shut up!" Jonathon demanded, shooting annoyed looks at the other two.  
  
"We'll get the book tonight." Warren stated.  
  
"How?" Jonathon inquired.  
  
"We're breaking into the Magic Box, you numbskull." Warren rolled his eyes in irritation.  
  
"They have cameras." Andrew moved to a different computer that showed about four different screens on one monitor.  
  
He typed in a command and automatically the four screens disappeared, and in its place a blue print of the Magick Box materialized. He entered another command into the computer and three red dots popped up. Two of the dots stayed lit, while the other blinked.  
  
Warren came up behind Andrew and stared at the screen for a couple of seconds before pulling up a chair and taking a seat at yet another computer. This computer had a blank screen with a single white line blinking on and off at the top left hand corner. He typed something in and from the blinking line came about seven stars. Enter.  
  
Jonathon stood up and looked on from the computer that Andrew was working on to Warren's computer. He contemplated in his mind whether he should go sit down at another computer, but he couldn't figure out what he would do once he sat down, so instead he stayed in his position behind Andrew and Warren.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
Andrew looked at Jonathan, then back at the computer screen proudly. "It's an exact copy of the Magic Box. The original blue prints, from when it was first built. That means, it shows any and all passageways in and out of there."  
  
"And the red dots?"  
  
"The three cameras." Andrew looked over to Warren. "Are you in yet?"  
  
"No. It got decoded, but there's one more frame I have to get through."  
  
Jonathon sat back down in his pile of pillows. "You guys, I'm feeling very out of the loop here."  
  
"Alright I'm in." Warren declared.  
  
Jonathon threw up his hands in annoyance. "I'm not!"  
  
"It's alright, Sparky, we'll fill you in, in a second." Warren turned to Andrew's computer. "What've we got?"  
  
"Well, Superman is now being attacked by Kerrigor an-"  
  
Warren shot a withering glance at Andrew and just looked back at the monitor. "What's with the blinking light?"  
  
A confused look passed through Andrew's face and he flipped back a couple of pages. "I don't know. I think they actually show where everything is. But it's really weird, because in this one, they're at different coordinates than at the last comic. It's really weird."  
  
"On the computer, moron."  
  
Andrew looked up from the comic and at the computer. "Oh. Right. Well, the blinking light is the camera that isn't on. And the other two are.on."  
  
"Why isn't that one on? Do you know?" Warren asked while typing up something else on his computer.  
  
"Well, there isn't like, a book about it or anything, but I think what they do, is switch off every 8 hours. Like.look." Andrew points to the blinking camera. "This one, is off right now."  
  
"Really? We didn't notice, you dweeb." Jonathon muttered.  
  
"Just listen, shorty. This one is turned off at 4 in the afternoon, and it turns back on at exactly midnight, which is in six hours time. Then the next one shuts off. That way, there are always two on." Andrew explained.  
  
"But why wouldn't they have all three on? It's maximum security." Jonathan asked.  
  
"They don't need all three on at one time. Two cameras show all of the shop." Warren replied. "I get it. Three cameras, divide a day into three and you have 8 each. So which camera is the one that turns off at midnight?"  
  
"That's what I'm trying to figure out now. It's a 50/50 chance."  
  
Jonathon stood back up. "Whoa. Hold up. Why would they *have* three cameras, if they only need two in the first place?"  
  
"I don't know!" Warren exclaimed with in a warning tone. "And I don't care. All I know is that we need that book. So important facts...only two cameras are on at one single time! Every eight hours, a camera shuts off as another starts up. Andrew, how long does it take to boot up?"  
  
"About 2 minutes and 27 seconds. It's one of those G-Tech models that has the motto-" Andrew began.  
  
"So that's the amount of time we have to get in and out with the book." Warren interrupted. "Now we have to figure out which camera we'll have to stay clear of. Let's get to work., we're doing this tonight."  
  
"Um...what are we doing?" Andrew asked cautiously.  
  
"I decoded everything that produces an IP or some kind of signal inside the Magic Box. Now I have to hack into the cameras so we could use them as our own." Warren rolled across the van to yet another monitor. "The cameras will play on this."  
  
"What should I do?"  
  
"Andrew...your job, will be to figure out exactly which camera will turn off at midnight so that we can stay away from the unneeded attention we might get." He turned to Jonathon. "And you, short stuff, will be here."  
  
"Why do you two always get to have the fun?" Jonathon whined.  
  
"We need you here, to let us know how much time we have left, and if anything goes wrong, we'll need to get out of there. You'll be the one to warn us." Warren explained. "You have a very important job. Okay?"  
  
"Fine." Jonathon mumbled.  
  
"Next time I wanna hear a little more enthusiasm, got it?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
***  
  
"What?" A voice whispered from the shadows behind the shop. "Speak louder."  
  
"ALRIGHT!" the voice from the earpiece screeched as the headpiece flew out of Andrew's hand.  
  
"Not so loud." Andrew muttered.  
  
"Give me that." Warren grabbed the headpiece and stuck it in his ear. "Jonathon?"  
  
"Hey, Warren, do you read me? Your girlfriend's pathetic. Over." Jonathon's voice floated through the headphone.  
  
"That is so old." Warren rolled his eyes. "What time is it?"  
  
"You have a minute and 37...36...33 seconds."  
  
"Let's go." Warren grabbed Andrew by the jacket and headed to the door. He put his hand to the knob and...nothing happened. "Damnit."  
  
"Are you guys in?"  
  
"No. The doors locked. Hold on." Warren stepped back and was about to kick open the door when Andrew moved to the door, did something that Warren couldn't make out because of the dark, and the door swung open.  
  
"If you had kicked open the door, don't you think that would have attracted some unwanted attention?" Andrew asked as he walked in.  
  
"55 seconds."  
  
Warren slightly opened the door to the main room of The Magic Box and looked out. "Andrew, fill me in. Which camera is which?"  
  
Andrew crept up behind Warren. "The one behind the cash register is the one that will turn on at midnight. The one right above this door is the one that will shut down. And the camera over in the back corner will stay on, so we have to stay in the shadows."  
  
"30 seconds."  
  
Warren nodded. "Alright. And we have about 2 minutes and 27 seconds to get out."  
  
"10 seconds."  
  
"Right. When do we go?" Andrew looked out at the dark room.  
  
"Go." Jonathon's said.  
  
"Now."  
  
Warren and Andrew silently walked out of the back and crept around the shop.  
  
"Uh...Warren. The book isn't here." Andrew whispered.  
  
"Where is it?" Warren voice questioned from somewhere across the room.  
  
"I don't know! I don't see-" Suddenly a loud crash sounded from Andrew's side of the shop. "Mmph!"  
  
"What the hell did you do?" Warren asked as he made his way towards Andrew's shadow, which flickered every now and then when a car drove by.  
  
"It's the stupid table! It got in my way." Andrew complained while sitting down and poking his foot. "And now I think my foot's asleep."  
  
Meanwhile in the van, Jonathon sat in a swivel chair with a headset, which he was speaking into. "You have about one minute and thirty seconds left. Do you have it yet?"  
  
"No. This little baby here jammed his toe." Warren voice said.  
  
"Well hurry up. You have about one minute and fifteen seconds left now." Jonathon pronounced.  
  
He looked at the computer monitor that Warren had been at earlier and frowned. He then looked at the blue print of the Magic Box. All the dots were shining steadily. He started chewing on his lip and slowly turned to the monitor that had been programmed to show the same footage as the cameras at the Magic Box.  
  
"Damnit." He verbalized his thoughts. "Warren, you *need* to get out of there."  
  
The monitor showed three separate screens. A minute ago, one of the screens had been actually showing anything. Now all three were recording something. The two screens that had been empty now showed to heavily shadowed, moving objects running around inside.  
  
"Why? Don't we have a minute left?"  
  
"Something's gone wrong. All three cameras are working." Jonathon responded, still staring at the screen in shock and nervousness. "Get out of there."  
  
Warren's figure came up to the camera and tapped it. "Well, yeah, we didn't break it."  
  
"That's not what I meant, you're being recorded...by all three cameras."  
  
"How?"  
  
Jonathon shrugged to himself. "No idea."  
  
"Where's the VCR?" Warren demanded.  
  
He quickly typed in something to the blue prints and a blue dot appeared next to a red dot. "Underneath the camera that's behind the register."  
  
Jonathon looked back at the blue prints, he noticed movement in another computer monitor and turned to it. "Crap...this just isn't a very good day. Warren, forget the book. The Slayer and Spike are headed to the shop."  
  
"Shit. Okay, pull up from behind. Andrew and I'll be right out."  
  
Jonathon took off the headset and threw it onto the keyboard as he opened the back doors and headed up to the front seat. As he turned the ignition, he put the gear on reverse and backed the car up the alley. He stopped about 10 feet from the back door to the Magic Box and looked back.  
  
At that same moment, Warren and Andrew ran out the door and bounded into the van. Andrew quickly dropped down onto his beanbag while Warren shut the car doors. Before even one door was closed Jonathan had already stepped on the gas pedal and they were on their way.  
  
Warren dropped into the passenger seat of the car and the van was silent for a minute.  
  
"That was close." Someone said.  
  
Suddenly Warren looked into the back at Andrew, who was still lying on his beanbag. "You *did* break the VCR like I said, right?"  
  
Andrew sat up. "No." He handed a black rectangular object, that he'd been holding, to Warren, who stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"You *took* the VCR." Warren said slowly.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't want to take any chances." Andrew shrugged. "Ya know..."  
  
"Smart boy." Warren plugged in the VCR and clicked the "Eject" button. Nothing came out, so he looked into the VCR. He suddenly dropped it and a look of utter shock and anger appeared in his face and eyes.  
  
"What is it?" asked Jonathan as he stopped at a red light.  
  
"There is no tape." Warren laughed. "There's no tape! This was set up for idiots.like us."  
  
"What?"  
  
"There's no damn tape! That means, we planned all this out for nothing, we could have gotten the book earlier and in an easier fashion.but no. We thought long and hard, and what do we get out if this?"  
  
"Andrew tilted his head. "The.uh, the book!"  
  
"...we don't have the book, Andrew." 


End file.
